Retirement? Nah...

This week, I got asked for the millionth time  "are you still working." 

Well...yes.  I'm 61, consider myself pretty decent at what I do, and really have no plans to retire.  Oh I suppose I will retire eventually but right now I'm having too much fun.

I still look forward to coming to work in the morning (I also look forward to going home to my wife of 38 years).  And I do manage to play a bit.  The bike (which you probably hear too much about), hiking (with my wife-we especially like to find waterfalls), my grandkids. 

A buddy is getting me started in fly fishing and I just bought my first fishing license in probably 30 years.  So life is good and full and meaningful and rewarding. 

I've also said too many times that I'll give up my day job before I'll give up walking the football sidelines with George Quarles.  That's a gig that pretty much everybody would want to trade with me on. 

What is age, anyway?  Didn't President Reagan take office at 72?  I've said for many years that age is a number and now I'm fast approaching the age where it is time to put up or shut up.

So what does it take to keep those golden years golden?

I met a lady this week that was 62, looked 42, and rode a bike like she was 22.  She was asked by somebody else what the secret was.

Her answer:  Exercise and nutrition.

It should come as no surprise that I agree with that, but for most, there's a lot more to it than that.

Like genetics.  If your parents were healthy into their senior years, your chances just went up.  If they died young...well...you better go that extra mile.

And lifestyle.  You parents are more likely to have done manual labor, slept 8 hours a night, and eaten food that came from local providers. 

Most jobs today don't involve physical effort.  Even my job requires me to spend too much time in front of a computer (which I'm doing at this moment, by the way).  Lots of jobs are like that. 

I can tell you that in health care, paperwork is at times overwhelming.  Back in those early days, we spent a lot more time in direct patient care.  It seems now that the ratio of patient care to paper work is about 1:1. 

And nobody likes it.  Nobody.

Our lives today are so full (which is a good thing) and hectic (which isn't always) that it hardly leaves time for us to do those things that we know are good for us.  Like exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and laugh a lot.

What?  Laugh a lot?  What's that got to do with it?  

Check the research.  Those that laugh a lot live longer.  And that sometimes means time away from work, exercise, maybe even family. 

It means that we hang out with friends and relax and enjoy conversation and camaraderie.  It means we laugh at ourselves and see humor in things all around us. 

Didn't see that one coming, huh.

So...how do you sustain lifestyle changes?

I spoke to a local group last week.  Mostly about how to sustain an exercise program and a bit about nutrition.

This was a group that had just completed a company-sponsored walking program where they kept up with their steps during the day with a pedometer.  There was some friendly competition involved but mostly it was about working toward better health. 

Oh, a couple of them admitted that they were doing it for the financial reward but most were genuinely interested in doing it for their health. 

My question for them was how do you sustain it.  How do you keep going with this really great path you've started down without the incentives of competition, reward, and acknowledgement?

When the clock goes off in the morning and you haven't slept well and it's a lot easier just to hit the snooze button and skip the workout? 

Or you didn't have time to pack your lunch and you're hungry and so working out at lunch just won't work today?  Or the kids called and you've now got something after work to take care of that wasn't 

on your schedule. 

Plain and simple--it is hard to sustain regular exercise.  I can't tell you how many times I've watched someone join our gym and be on fire for exercise only to fizzle out in a few short months.

Life too often gets in the way.

But it can be done.  Look at it this way:  It has to become part of your life. 

You won't skip meals (you need to eat to live).  You won't skip sleep (that one will eventually fix itself).  You won't skip bathing (please).  You won't skip brushing your teeth.

See, there's a lot of things in your life that are simply part of your life, that can't be passed up.  I would like to suggest that daily exercise is in the same category.

If you want good health, you will exercise regularly.  And eat better.   Both have to become part of your life to be truly sustainable over a lifetime.

My wife and I have a new mantra:  eat to live, not live to eat.  Oh, we enjoy our food but we're totally committed to eating what is healthy for us.  Good meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts.

At the end, I had an interesting question from this group.  "If you had to choose between a regular soda and a soda with artificial sweetener, which would you choose?"

This was after a tirade about the evils of sugar.

With only a moment's hesitation, I said that I would drink the regular soda but I really didn't drink sodas of any kind. 

Afterwards, I had a chance to reflect on that answer.  I think that my answer was based on this:  I know what's in sugar and I know what it will do.  I don't know what's in the artificial sweetener.  We simply don't know what affect it has on our body.

I've also said this many times in recent months--what we now know is that dietary fat is not the culprit we always thought it was.  Science has proven that.  The bad stuff is that refined flour and refined sugar.

Significantly reduce those things from your diet and you've taken another giant step toward good health.

Saying Thanks

I was talking just this week with one of the best men Blount County has produced.  I'll not identify him here (I prefer to stay on the good side of federal law) but let's just say that his surgical skills were legendary.

He called me over and said "Joe, I've got a column idea for you.  Have you ever thought about writing a column about how people ought to express their appreciation, their gratitude more often?"

I decided then and there that it was definitely worthy of a column.

Some of you may recall the story of how my high school football coach  was such a great influence on me.  In a nutshell, I was an underachieving high school sophomore when I overheard him tell another teacher at my school "if he works at it, he can be a good one."

My work ethic after that became if not legendary, at least of  epic proportions when compared to the freshman Joe Black.  In other words, I decided to get to work.  I haven't stopped since.

And it all goes back to that high school football coach. 

Have I taken the opportunity to tell him how much I appreciated him?  Oh yeah.  Many times.  Every chance I get, really.

When I was inducted into the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame, I invited him to come.  Much to my surprise, he came. 

I hope you don't take it as any disrespect for the Hall of Fame, it is a tremendous honor and I am proud to be a member, but the greater honor was the presence of my high school football coach.  Such was the esteem that I held for him. 

But you know what...that sort of thing happens all the time. Coaches, teachers, and others shape the lives of young people every day.  

It probably happens more often for coaches, since they get our attention so thoroughly.   It is part of the job and even the reason a lot of coaches get into the business anyway. 

I mean, don't we all want to make a difference? 

Another person that had a lot of influence on my was a high school English teacher at my school.  It's not unfair to say that until I got in his class, English was not my best subject.  I've also said here before that there are English teachers galore rolling over in their graves that I've written a newspaper column for 29 years.

But he changed all that.  He stirred those creative fires.  He broadened my horizons.  His impact on my life was much more subtle than the football coach.  It took me years to truly appreciate what he had done for me.

I had never had much opportunity to tell him how much I appreciated his influence on me until we sat near each other at a Clayton Center concert last year.  I didn't pass on that opportunity. 

So how about you?  Is there a teacher or coach or other person that was a positive influence on your life?  Have you taken the opportunity to tell them about it?  To tell them how much you appreciate them?

Don't miss any opportunity that you might have.  Those opportunities diminish as the years go by.

And to that much-loved doctor:  Let me say how much I appreciate the professionalism and dedication that you displayed for so many years in this community.  You set standards that everyone in health care should aspire to.  You have certainly been a role model for me. 

Team Sport Kind of Guy

Some of my earliest memories are around football, when I was too young to play but wanted to play anyway.  I was in the 4th grade when I started playing.  I was on a team filled with big ol' 8th graders. 

What were my parents thinking?  (They were thinking that if this was something that I really wanted to do, then they would support met.)  I'm sure I never got to play in a real game that first year but I do remember practicing on the outfield of the old baseball field downtown. 

I have come to the conclusion that there are two types of athletes:  Team sport athletes and individual sport athletes. 

Except for a few years when I lived and breathed tennis, I've always been a team sports kind of guy.  

Even in those tennis days, I always preferred doubles tennis, which is definitely like being on a team.

Football and basketball have always been my sports.  Growing up, it was all about football.  I got most of my growth early so it looked like I was going to be rather large.  Alas, I quit growing when I was a sophomore in high school so those much-desired college football opportunities never materialized.

I was probably better suited for basketball anyway but when my high school football coach suggested I focus on football because I might have a future there, well basketball got abandoned.

Later on, in college, I became one of those gym rats who always had a basketball in their hands. I played regularly until I was 59.  I can still hit the three or take it to the hole (although much more slowly and awkwardly than I used to).  I may have missed my best sport.

Even the cycling that I do now is more of a team sport.  I rarely ride by myself, much preferring the company of a group ride. 

You may have seen us out there.  Unless we're strung out on a hill, you will find us in a tightly compacted pack, ebbing and flowing much like a flock of birds that you see flying across the sky that seem almost like a single unit.  I find great beauty in that.

That's part of the appeal to me--that teamwork mentality where you are part of a group.  In a group ride, you've got to trust those around you.  That trust builds friendships.  I've often said that most of the best friends I have are found on the back of a bicycle.

The same thing is true for a football team, a basketball team, any kind of team.   To be successful, you've got to trust your teammates.  You've got to invest in their success.To truly be a good team member, you've got to give up a lot of yourself.  You've got to give up your personal ambitions. 

But I truly believe that the shared joy of being on a team amplifies the happiness you can get from sports participation.  And if it is shared with people who also happen to be your friends, it is all the sweeter.

I've seen it many times on many different teams:  Kids that have grown up together, have been friends for years, celebrating a victory together.  Their joy is magnified by being part of something bigger than themselves.

For a team sport kind of guy, it doesn't get any better than that.

Everyday Birthdays

Just the other day, I got an inspirational message from  a friend that said "treat everybody like it is their birthday."  I liked that and I knew then I had the topic for this week's column.  Back to that thought in a moment.

I have a granddaughter who lived with us for several months.  Well, she and her whole family did.  

Their south Knoxville house had sold right before the second child was born.  He came a little early so had to spend a month in the NICU at Children's Hospital so the decision was made that they all move in with us.

We're lucky--we all get along quite well.  Maybe others will remember it differently but there were very few conflicts the whole time they were here.  My daughter-in-law really gets along great with her mother-in-law, destroying the stereotypes often found in that arena.

One of my fondest memories from those months was my granddaughter declaring every day as somebody's birthday.  We would all get home in the evening and she would declare with delight "it's Mommy's birthday!" 

Every day.  Everybody got to participate.  Occasionally even I would get to be the birthday designee.  Infrequently, it was her birthday.  But usually it was Mommy.

She would then squeal "happy birthday" and "let's sing happy birthday" (which we did).  We even occasionally did a cake and a candle.

I'm not sure she even realized what a birthday meant but she just knew that on that day, our family job was to make that person feel special.

How cool is that?

This little 2 year old bundle of joy and energy just wanted someone to feel special.  She never had to be prompted and if we came in at different times, she would make sure that we would know whose special day it was.

I would walk in the door:  "Daddy Joe!  It's Mommy's birthday!"

What if we cranky, overworked, it's-been-a-hard-day adults could adopt that attitude?  What if every day, we chose somebody to treat like it is their birthday.

Do you think that there would be more smiles?  More happiness?

I'm not talking about gift giving or cakes with candles.  I'm talking about doing all you can to make them feel special that day.  To demonstrate unconditional love on a daily basis. 

For all my grandkids, when their real birthday rolls around (alas, only once a year), their parents make sure it is a very special day.  Maybe a little extra for this one just because of that not-quite-a-birthday tradition.

How about you?  How about treating someone today like it is their birthday?  It will put a smile on your face.